The Girl Who Lived  Part One
by Yoshimi25
Summary: Ever wonder how Uchiha OCs survived the massacre of the clan?  Meet Uchiha Otsu...and learn how she survived.
1. Chapter 1

Uchiha Otsu ran home from the ninja academy as soon as classes were done for the day. She was so excited about tonight - tonight, her father would be home. He had been gone for nearly a month on his last mission and she had missed him terribly.

Otsu was a member of the Uchiha clan of the ninja village of Konohagakure, called Konoha by the villagers. It was the seat of power of the Land of Fire, and it's name meant "Village hidden in the leaves". While several powerful clans resided in the hallowed walls of Konoha, the Uchiha clan was the most spectacular. They had been present at the founding of the village years ago, and were currently, in fact, Konoha's police force and protectors.

Otsu's father, Uchiha Jiro, was the younger brother of the clan leader, Uchiha Fugaku. Otsu herself was twelve, just a year younger than Fugaku's eldest son, Itachi. She, like most of her clan, had dark grey eyes and raven-black hair, though it looked as if she might not ever develop the sharingan, which was the unique and powerful trait of the Uchiha clan. Her father, however, would smile at her frustration and simply tell her, "the flower that blooms late is the prettiest of all." - words that always encouraged Otsu.

As she rounded the corner that lead to the section of the village where the Uchiha clan lived, she stopped suddenly. Something...didn't feel right to her. She glanced behind her down the street and saw what she saw every day - people outside, walking, going about their business...then slowly turned her head to look down the street where her own clan lived. It too, looked normal. But it _felt_ different.

"Itoko - cousin - " said a small voice behind her. Otsu jumped. She could have sworn there wasn't a soul there a moment ago. She turned and looked down into the face of her younger cousin, Sasuke. He was a sweet boy, a face full of innocence, hopes, and dreams. And, Otsu thought, permitting herself just a small amount of spite, will probably be just like his older brother Itachi and surpass her with ease.

"Itoko," he said again. "What's wrong, Otsu?"

She gave him a warm smile. "What makes you think anything is wrong?"

"You look as if you are expecting an attack," the seven-year old replied.

Otsu's expression softened towards the boy. She knew that his father clearly favored the elder brother, and that Sasuke was always going to live in that shadow. She gave him a warm smile. "Nothing's wrong, Sasuke-chan." and she ruffled the top of his head. He frowned and stuck out his lower lip.

"Don't call me 'chan' anymore, Otsu," he grumped. "I'm training to be a fine shinobi!"

Otsu remembered what it was like to be seven and have everyone older than you treat you like you were still five. "I'm sorry, Sasuke," she said, dropping the familiar title. "Maybe it was your chakra that I felt!"

The boy looked quizzically at her. "What chu talkin' 'bout, Willis?"

"Well, you said it looked like I was expecting an attack. All I know is that when I turned down this street I felt...well, it felt like a million souls crying out at once...then were suddenly silenced." She smiled at him again. "Perhaps I felt your awesome battle aura!"

Sasuke beamed with pride. Then he looked sharply at her. "Are you just saying that, Otsu?"

"No." she said quietly. She had been telling the truth. A sudden, eerie calm had overcome her when she turned down the street. Everything had looked normal - the sun was shining, she could see her grandmother hanging washing out to dry, the street was busy and noisy as it was every day...but something felt ominous. The last time she had felt like that was just before her mother had died defending the village against the attack of the nine-tailed fox seven years ago...

Her father!

"Sasuke...I've got to go home!"

"I'm going to the training fields anyway," he called to her fleeing figure. He sighed as he watched her run. Then he shrugged and went the opposite direction, determined to train until he dropped.

Otsu's heart pounded as she ran towards her house. Fear spurred her on, and her lungs were burning when she leapt over the three steps and landed on her porch with a very un-ninja like thud. She threw the door open and raced into the entry hall, not bothering to slip out of her shoes.

"FATHER!" she cried. "Father, are you home? FATHER!"

end part one


	2. Chapter 2

Part Two

"FATHER!" Otsu called out at the top of her lungs. "Father, are you home?"

A figure encased in shadows stepped out from a shoji door. Otsu screamed and instantly struck a defensive pose. The figure spoke.

"Otsu! What's wrong?"

Hearing her father's warm voice deflated Otsu, and she exhaled and dropped her head and shoulders in relief. Then she ran to her father and hugged him.

"Oh father, I'm glad you're home!" She sobbed.

"Otsu!" he said fondly, and embraced his only child. "What scared you?"

"I got that feeling again, Father," she said, pulling herself out of his arms. "Just like I did when mother died."

Uchiha Jiro frowned slightly. He had learned not to make light of Otsu's "feelings". He suspected that they were budding jutsu that could be unique only to her, but he had never said a word to his daughter about it.

"You did?" Was all he said.

"And when I got it," she continued, "I thought something had happened to you on your mission."

Jiro looked down at the top of his daughter's head. He knew his older brother, Fukagu, had been doing a great deal of planning regarding Konoha and it's future and had voiced his own objection to it, but his brother had assured him it would be a coup de 'etah... but looking at Otsu, Jiro began to wonder if Fukagu had lied to him. No, that was impossible. Fukagu had never lied to him. Something else...something else must be coming. Jiro resolved to speak directly to the Hokage, the leader of the village, tomorrow morning.

"Well as you can see, I'm fine," he said, and then he smiled.

Otsu smiled back. "Maybe I just worry too much, Father," she said. "After all, this is the first mission you've had where you've been gone for so long."

"Maybe so, Nanka"

Otsu felt better when she heard him use his pet name for her. She shredded her backpack and removed her shoes and placed both in the entryway to the house. "What do you want for dinner, father?" She called out to him.

"Something simple, Nanka. Maybe just plain soba." He then remembered the surprise he had for her. "Otsu! Come here!"

She paused halfway to the kitchen and looked back at him. "What is it father?"

He held up a small disc and grinned. "I didn't forget my promise! Family movie night!" Otsu squealed with delight. "Just as the sun sets," Jiro continued, "we'll start the movie. I think you'll like it!"

Dinner conversation consisted mostly of her progress in school. Jiro knew his daughter struggled for her good grades and was proud of the fact that she kept them up while he had been gone. After dinner and clean-up, Otsu ran upstairs to do her homework and wait for the sun to set. She didn't care what movie her father had brought back - the important thing was that they were sharing a moment together. She still had that unsettling feeling, but buried it under her happiness that her father had returned home.

Shadows fell across her desk and she knew that it would soon be time to watch the movie. Sure enough, her father called to her from downstairs:

"Nanka, it's time!"

Otsu quickly shoved her papers in her books and brushed her scrolls aside and stood up. "I'll be right down, father! I've got to go to the bathroom first!" She jolted across the upper hall to the family bathroom and shut the door tightly. She had taken to making sure it was latched properly - the door was old and it stuck when you tried to open it. She knew her father had been meaning to fix it but he just never seemed to have the time.

As she sat, she could hear her father downstairs moving around and singing outloud. She smiled as she heard the familiar song he always sang when he was in a good mood. It made her feel like nothing bad could ever happen to her. She hummed softly along with him and wiggled her feet.

Then she heard a knock on the front door downstairs and tilted her head quizzically. Who could be calling at this time of night? She heard her father open the door. Then she heard him say, "why, Itachi! What are you doing here?"

Her cousin? Odd. Had something happened to Sasuke? He had said he was going to the training fields...was she wrong for not telling Sasuke's parents where he had gone?

Then she heard her father say, "are you on a mission, Itachi? You've got your ANBU uniform on. Oh...who's your friend in the mask?" There was just the smallest sound of sword against saya, a smaller gasp, and then a horrific scream from her father "OH god it hurts like a mother fu-" ...then...a thud that sounded like something heavy hitting the floor. Otsu's feet froze, and she held her breath. What in the world was going on?

And then...she heard them. Heavy footsteps pounding in and out of every room downstairs. Then on the stairs. She heard her bedroom door being jerked open. She could not move when she heard the hand rattle the bathroom door. It stuck, and the person on the other side rattled it violently. And then, a strange and unfamiliar voice from downstairs called up the stairwell.

"Itachi! Let's go!"

"Just a second," said her cousin, his voice a mere three feet from her, separated by only a broken door. The door rattled again, this time with more force.

"Itachi, lets go! The clan isn't going to kill themselves, you know!"

"There should be one more person in this house," her cousin said. Every time he spoke Otsu thought she was going to scream.

"Itachi! NOW! We don't have a lot of time before the entire village is alerted!"

"I told you..."

"I know what you told me...but only the Hokage and the village elders know. Do you think that a passing ANBU or Jonin will know? Do you, Itachi?"

The door stopped rattling. Footfalls retreated from the door and back down the stairs, and out the front door.

Otsu waited a full five minutes, and heard nothing. She slowly rose up, and crept to the door, and lifted the knob up and slightly to the left. It gave like it had never been stuck and she slowly, slowly pushed it open.

There was blood on the other side of the knob.

End.


End file.
